By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
A 1-1 Centennial League soccer tie with Junction City was a disappointment to the Topeka High Trojans Tuesday night at Hummer Sports Park.
Senior Noah Storrer (6) scored Topeka High's lone goal in Tuesday's 1-1 Centennial League tie with Junction City. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Topeka High jumped on top at the 25:30 mark of the first period when Trojan senior Noah Storrer received a centering pass from Neri Diaz-Mayorga and crossed up the goalkeeper with a shot that ricocheted off the left post and in.
Senior Neri Diaz-Mayorga (29) had the assist on Topeka High's lone goal in Tuesday's 1-1 Centennial League tie with Junction City. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Topeka High clung to the 1-0 advantage for more than 55 minutes of game action. But the Trojans let the lead slip away with just 10:00 remaining in regulation. Junction City’s Biel Fenor received a long cross in front of the Trojan goal and blasted a shot that was deflected off a Topeka High defender into the net.
“An own-goal took the win away from us, and that hurt,” said Topeka High coach Derek Snook. “We were just trying to clear it, and it didn’t happen.”
With the lead snatched away, Topeka High battled the Blue Jays through two scoreless extra periods. Adding to the bad taste in the Trojans’ mouths was a penalty kick in the first extra period that slammed off the crossbar.
Snook admitted that, if the Trojans had trailed most of the game and scored late to tie it, the disappointment would probably have been less severe.
“It’s disappointing in the fact that I thought we could have finished better,” Snook said. “(Junction City) fought hard. We tried to fight hard. We could have gotten better shots on frame. We just kind of got a little stagnant. I don’t know if we were trying to make the perfect pass or make the perfect shot, but it just didn’t result in good finishing.”
The Trojans failed to improve their 4-2 record, instead settling for their first tie of the season. They travel to Emporia Thursday to take on the 5-2 Spartans.
“I think we’re coming together,” Snook said. “We’re playing really hard. We get some people back into the lineup and we’re still searching for people in some different spots. But I’m really excited about going forward, what we can do.”
TOPEKA HIGH 1, JUNCTION CITY 1
Junction City (3-3-1) 0 1 0 0 — 1
Topeka High (4-2-1) 1 0 0 0 — 1
Junction City — Goal: Fenor.
Topeka High — Goal: Storrer. Assist: Diaz-Mayorga.
